Telstra closes its CDMA network today

Telstra country wide director, Gary Goldsworthy, said that the ANZAC Day long weekend was the last opportunity for some CDMA customers to get to a shop and migrate to a new mobile network, such as the Telstra Next G network.

"Customers just needed to remember that Friday is a public holiday so the weekend was the last real chance for many customers to migrate off the old CDMA network and stay connected," Goldsworthy said.

According to Goldsworthy migrating from CDMA to the Telstra Next G network was straight forward and its advice to CDMA customers was to visit your nearest Telstra shop or dealer where trained staff was on stand-by to help.

"Customers must understand that no calls can be made or received on the CDMA network after midnight on Monday 28 April including triple 0 emergency calls,” he said. "Telstra will have a process in place to enable CDMA customers to retrieve their CDMA mobile phone numbers for up to 28 days after the network closes. However we urge customers to migrate now and not to risk any unexpected delays during that period."

Most Telstra shops were open on Saturday and Sunday, however customers were advised to check local store opening hours. Information about shop locations, opening hours plus instructions on how to migrate from CDMA to the Telstra Next G network is available from the CDMA upgrade website.

Goldsworthy said customers were first informed of the CDMA network closure more than two and half years ago. Since that time Telstra had used a combination of letters, SMS messages, phone calls and advertising to remind customers about the need to migrate to an alternative mobile network.

"Most of the remaining CDMA customers were aware of the need to migrate to a new network this weekend but we suspect there are a few customers who simply don't realise they have a CDMA handset," said Goldsworthy.

Therefore Telstra was still urging all mobile customers to complete a quick handset check to determine if they are inadvertently using the old CDMA network, claimed Goldsworthy.

"If a customer still isn't sure if they are using a CDMA handset, then the next step is to head straight down to a Telstra shop where our staff can offer assistance," he said.